Indonesian Muslim militant on trial over attack on tolerance rally

Aug 29, 2008, 11:25 GMT

Jakarta - An Indonesian Islamist hardliner went on trial amid tight security Friday over an attack on a rally for religious tolerance in June in which dozens of people were injured.

Government prosecutors charged Munarman, who, like many Indonesians, goes by one name, of committing harassment and destruction of property belonging to supporters of the interfaith rally.

Munarman, who is in custody, faces a seven-year sentence if found guilty in the attack that shocked moderate Indonesia, the world's most populous Muslim country.

Members of the Islamic Defenders' Front (FPI), many clad in Islamic robes and headscarves, were caught on video attacking men, woman and children with bamboo sticks at the June 1 demonstration in Jakarta.

The estimated 200 peaceful demonstrators included Christians and members of Ahmadiyah, a minority Muslim sect, which the hard-liners consider heretical. They had gathered at the National Monument to celebrate the country's tradition of religious tolerance.

Dozens were injured in the attack, which triggered condemnation. Moderate Muslims called for the disbanding of the FPI, which has a history of ransacking establishments it considers un-Islamic.

The trial began with more than 500 police officers guarding the hearing at the central Jakarta district court.

Hundreds of FPI followers packed the courtroom and shouted, 'Allahu Akbar!' or 'God is Great!' when Munarman entered.

Ahmadiyah, estimated to have 500,000 to 2 million followers in Indonesia, has been the subject of heated controversy after Indonesia's Ulema Council, the country's Islamic authority, branded the group 'deviant.'

In a bid to appease hardliners, the government on June 9 issued a decree ordering Ahmadiyah followers to cease all activities not in accordance with interpretations of the religion of Islam or face five years in prison and the disbanding of the group.

But conservative groups criticized the decree as not going far enough and demanded the government disband the sect.